Damakant Jayshi
A commercial loan program in Wausau that provides gap financing to stimulate facade rehabilitation will undergo changes but will continue to avoid providing full funding for projects in the future.
Among the major changes suggested by Wausau’s Economic Development Committee include a shorter repayment time for larger loan amounts instead of the current 15-year period, and increasing the existing cap of 25% as the city’s overall loan contribution for projects.
In March 2023, the committee declined to approve a commercial rehab loan for a downtown property owner who had sought 100 percent loan assistance for a window awning upgrade, a request at odds with city policy. The committee members said they would not make any exception for an individual. But they also asked the Community Development Department to examine whether the loan policy needed to be updated to reflect current market prices and construction costs.
Community Development Manager Tammy Stratz, who presented an updated version of the policy on Tuesday, said that staff agreed it is time to make changes.
The Economic Development Committee wanted staff to have more flexibility and a greater authority in deciding on loan applications for projects. The city’s contribution aims to be supplemental to the project’s cost and not a competition to a commercial lender.
Committee member Lisa Rasmussen suggested that staff should exercise “maximum flexibility to get projects done, get a quick turnaround and collect your money faster if you feel you need to.”
Rasmussen said that her intention is that staff should decide on the merits of potential projects and not tie themselves to a fixed 15-year period of repayment, nor cap the loan amount to 25%. “If you have the option to go for 35%-40% on a worthy project, the staff would have more leeway while taking a decision, Rasmussen added.
Another committee member, Tom Kilian, said he agreed with many of Rasmussen’s suggestions, like a shorter repayment period, but he added he was a little uncomfortable with the suggestion of raising the loan ceiling from the current 25%. However, he also said he was in favor of “whatever is relevant and easy for the department to move this through in a timely manner.” Kilian said it is reassuring and encouraging to see that the maximum loan amount has not been set at 100%.
Earlier, Stratz said the department preferred to retain the cap of the city’s contribution to existing limit of 25% of the total rehabilitation or redevelopment project.
